A Word of Thanks from Kilteevan Community Development Group
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Eileen Fahey, Kilteevan Community Development Group, welcomes Owen, John and Tom Brennan to Kilteevan Gathering.
Having taken the opportunity to draw breath, Kilteevan Community Development Group would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to all who helped in any way, to make Kilteevan Gathering 2013 such an overwhelming success.
The Gathering created a greater sense of community spirit and gave wonderful publicity at home and abroad to our community. We should all feel very proud that our village made headlines on the local, national and international news media. The sense of pride among the local community during the Gathering Weekend and Heritage Week is something that will remain with us for a long time to come.
The highlight of the opening of The Gathering was the presence of our distinguished visitors from the USA. The presence of Owen, John and Tom Brennan and their wider team added greatly to the occasion. Seeing and experiencing old acquaintances renewed, new relationships being formed and hearing talk about the importance of our sense of place, highlighted the essence of The Gathering Ireland 2013.
Our near neighbour Jim Miley, National Co-ordinator of The Gathering also attended as did Mayor of Roscommon, Cllr. Martin Connaughton and other local politicians and guests. We thank them for their attendance.
Nollaig Feeney, Heritage Officer Roscommon Co Council, officially opened Kilteevan Heritage Trail and website. This was done to coincide with National Heritage Week. The Heritage Trail provides locals and visitors with information on key historic sites and also highlights the wealth of flora and fauna in our community.
Michael Spellman, Chairperson, Roscommon LEADER Partnership Company spoke on the importance of Leader funding while Sharon Eastwood, Woodrow Sustainable Solutions gave a brief snapshot of Kilteevan’s forthcoming 3 Year Strategic Plan.
The Heritage Trail walk /cycle on August 17th proved a huge success with over 90 participants in what was a most pleasant occasion. News of the trail spread rapidly and during Heritage Week a large number of people took the opportunity of visiting our heritage sites.
Our Time Capsule, buried in the grounds of the Community Centre, will provide interesting reading and much speculation when it is opened in 2113. Future generations will have something to look forward to! The poignant contribution written for the time capsule by local resident and editor of Roscommon People, Paul Healy was very warmly received by the attendance at the creation of the capsule.
Our visitors and the local community greatly admired the craftwork of local artists on display over the weekend.
Many thanks to
Annette Gaffney for her beautiful and thought provoking art exhibition.
Rachel Feely, Get Ahead Hats for her bespoke headpieces, jewellery and fashion accessories.
John Gillooly for his exhibition of Lucky Sods, Irish turf gifts.
The entertainment provided by local artists was greatly appreciated. A sincere thank you to Enya Reilly, Éabha Dolan, Gerry Spellman, Paud Sexton, Aileen and Laura Croghan, Mooney Family and Michael Banahan for their wonderful performances.
We were privileged to have Band 2 Brigade, Custume Barracks Athlone, under the baton of Captain Declan Whitsun to provide a special finale to our closing ceremony on August 18th. We sincerely thank Captain Whitsun and the band members for their programme of music on the day. It went down a treat with the large audience.
Thanks also to the following for their support and sponsorship.
Paddy Finns
Midland Sound Athlone
Service Matters
Kilteevan Community Alert
Kilteevan Youth Club
Kilteevan Wheelers
St Joseph’s GAA Club
As a community organisation, we hope to build on the success of The Gathering 2013 as we strive to make Kilteevan an even better place to live. Your continued support will be needed!
